Improved furnace for roasting and treating ores



a Sheets-Shet- 1.

R. GEORGE. FURNACE FOR EOASTING AND TREATING ORES.

No.-80 .066. Patented July 21, 1868.

3 Sheath-s :2.

GEORGE.

FURNAGEIQR ROASTIN'G AND TREATING ORES. No. 80,065. Patented JulyZl, 1868.

129a. .ZZny. J'm zz 1111mm 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

R.GEORGE.

. fURNAOE FORIROASTINGAND TREATING 0115s. No. 80,065. Patented July 21, 1868.

Y yfiz edbezg- I I fia UNITED TAT PATENT OFFICE.

frontier Gnonemor MINERAL rom'r, WISCONSIN.

Specification forming-part of Letters Patent 80,005, dated July 2!,1868.

.To all whom it may concern:

Be itknownthatI,ROBERTGEORGmofMineral Point, Iowa coun,ty,'State of Wisconsin,

have invented a new and improy'ed furnace.

for oxidizing, chlorifying, desulphurizing, and disintegrating ores, metallurgical and chemical products; and I do hereby declare'the following to be a full and-exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings and, lettersyot' reference marked thereon.

. The nature of my invention consistsin a furnace, fully described hereinafter, whereby t-ho desulphurizin'g, chlorilying, and disintegrah 1 ing ores, metallurgical and chemical-products containing sulphur, arsenic, phosphorus,'an"- timony,tellurium, and selenium are perfectlyaccomplished in largerquantities and in shorter I. time than heretofore has been the ease,-for the purpose of separating the precious metals from ores and metallurgical compounds, as well as for the freeing of the ores of the baser metals from injurious substances and the preparation 1 of the alkalies from chlorides and alkaline combinations. 1

'To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe its construct-ion andoperation.

In reference to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, Sheet I, Figure 1 is a plan viewon the line A'Bof my improved furnace .for oxidizing, chlori-fying, 8w. Fig.2 is-a rearelevation. .Shcet II, Fig. 3-is a longitudinal section on the line 0 D E F G H. ,Fig. 41s atransverse section on the lineI K L M N 0. Sheet Il-I, Fig.5is-

a longitudinal elevation. Fig. 6 is a front elevation. w The sectional lines are indicated by red lines and red-colored capital letters.

The different materials are denoted as follows: stone masonry,reddishbr.own common lgfick-work, pink; fireclay work, yellow; iron,

as. l Similar letters in blackinkrefer to similar parts throughout the several elevations and sections.

My furnace consists of two oxidizing or dis-' integrating chambers, D and G. The requisite heatisgenerated in-the fire-chamber A, with-the door a, ash-pit B,-and thadoor b for regulating the draft. The tire passes through the fines c' I c a c cinto the oxidizing-chamber O, and finds d d dinto D finding their-vent through the chimney E into the atmosphere. The S-orifice serves to regulate the fire for the twooxidiz- .ingchambers C and D by means of the damper M and M over the main flue c and d.

If it is desirable to conduct all the heat gencratcd in the fire'chalnber to the oxidizing-furnace C, the damper M is to be closed, and also the dampersyi in thechinniey E, while tliedampers e on the rear part of the furnace D are to be opened and the products of the. combustion will pass through the oxidizing-chamber I), generating in the same a less degree of heat, as "nay be desired by the nature of the materials'to be oxidized or chlorified. The products --ofcombu-stion in thiscase will pass off "throughthe chimneyF. Y

1 In order to facilitate the process'ofdesulphurizing and disintegrating ofth'e ores and products under treatment, and-to prevent the fusion of the same or the formation of sulphates thereof, a'requisite quantity of water is to be letintothe furnace and converted into steam inthe following manner: Pipe K is connectedwit-h atankof water of a certain height, feeding the pipes m and mi The valvesn n a are to regulate the influx of the waterinto the n siphons o" 0 o 0*, through which the water passes into the pipes p p p p andtriiekles in a heated state into thepipes G G,'&c., where it becomes converted into steam, which passes into the clay-pipes G2 G3 and G G and finds its exit at the orifices k k, &c., and k 7;, &c., in thehighest degree possible of superheated steam. The heat necessary for this purpose is procured from the tire through the flue j, j, and l, passing directly from the fire-chamber through j.- into. the; tube-chamber H, thence under the tubes G 6 G, and thence into the flue 1', heating the pipes p :12, entering the flue q, and finallyin chimney E. A similar course takes place from 1 into the tube-chamber'H, while the tire from flue jpasses'th-rough B into I, also the fire from lthrough H into 1?, finding its vent through the flue q into the chimney E. The orifices t and t serve to regulate theheat in the fluesj andj and l and P by hrick dampers. The temperature of the superheated steam in tube. G, which passes through a, connection-tube into .G and G. is in a scares thesepipesto the'hi ghost degree possible intensified by the fire of the main flue o and c being properly distributed bythe orifices k, &e., passing immediately over the fines for the-products of combustion e, mingling with the latter by entering through-the lines 0 into the oxidizing-chamber 0. .In a similar manner is the snperheat'ing of the steam effected in the .tubes to be placed in chamber H", which tubes are connected by G with G andG", finding its exit in the orifices k, &e., havingintermingled with the products of combustion issued by d entering into the oxidizing-chamber D. The conversion of the water into steam, its superheating,.and introduction into t-heosidizingchambers Gand D are accomplished from pipes pand p in a similar manner on the opposite side of the furnace. f

The unusual highdegree of temperature of. the superheated stealncould practically only be accomplished by substituting fire -proof tnbes'instead of iron pipes, because the in tense heat necessary for this purpose would give the iron the degree of heat at which water decomposes this metal, converting'it' into-an oxide,-

and in this wayrendering it unfit for this purpose;

7 It is further a fact that by heating fire-clay or porcelain tubes astrong' electric current is generated in the, interior, and I have discovered by experimenting that it electrilies (ozonizes) the superheated steam in such a manner that the-oxidization and disintegration of the mineral substances above named are. much more efi'eeti-vely accomplished than by any process heretofore known. It may be further seen that by this process'ofinjeeting water-instead of steam the quantity of the water can more easily be controlled by inexperienced hands than if it were in-the form of steam. It can be checked at-pleasure without any danger of explosion.

It saves the purchasing and separate running ot a steam boiler, keeping it in repair, and transporting it in destitute mountainous re- Ifllons, where often great expense is required to build new roads for such purpose. and repairs. are very dimcult to be affected and wages for experienced laborers quite high. Theseveral parts of my apparatusare oftrifling weight, great duration, and can easily be replaced without the necessity of stopping the furnace for any length of time. a The charging and discharging of the desnl phnrizing-furnace iscarried on in the following manner: The materials to betreatedmay be charged through theopenin g f into the oxidizing-chamber D, in which they will he'spr'ead hythe stirring-machine L, which will bespe cially described hereinafter. It the nature ,of the materials under treatment in this oxidizlug-chamber requires a higher degree of heat for their perfect disintegration-as for instanee,;a mixture of those materia at whose components decompose water by different degrees of heat, as is the case with alkaline, at. kgline earths,v iron .py'rites, copper pyrites,

&c.---the materials in chamber Dmay be'discharged through openings 9' and I 9* into the disintegrating-chamber O for their per'fectdecomposition, at ter which they may, be removed.

without molestation to.the laborers through the openings h and h. If it is desirable, however, to keep the materials of the chamber D separate from those of the chamber (J, the same may be removed by .the doors 1' and r". The

same doors, as well as the doors 1* and r, serve the laborer to control the treatmentof the ma terials and the'proper working of. the stirring-. ma'chinein the respective disintegrating-charm hers.

' The stirring machine Lconsists-of three leads lag-pipes, :c a zv ,'which are fastened in the sockets of pipes t t i i z i In the latter are the pipes. u a m a, reetangularly inverted in such a mannerthat they may turn in the same.

The pipes at a a a servo for. the alternate connection of the stirring-shoes c c, &c., and c-c,'&c., which is effected by slides or loops k k, holding the topend of the stirring-shoe c c,

project from the main pipes u a ain. The shoes are. kept steady by means of. set-screws d d at a requisite'distance from the fioor of the furnace. The stirring-machine is held together by the stationary rods *0 v -c at, l l and l 9..

0nihe pipe 13 i is a car-wheel, ff, and on pipe it a similar wheel, ff, is fastened in such-a manner that the same can easily be replaced.

when repairing demands it. The wheels. revolve either on iron bars or on brick-work. 0a the front of the furnace are eoncave'frietionrollers y y, &e,, fastened to keepthe machine in its proper position and to facilitate its mo-' .of the stirring-maehine-from the front to the rear of the furnace the materials in the furnace are placed up in furrows by the reverse motion of the machine, the particles .of the materials on the surface of the "p Ziouslyformed furrows {are turned under, its the inward substance becomes exposed on'the surface of the newly-forming furrow, so that. a perfect contact of'the oxidizing or disintegrating substances is efi'ected, and avoiding at the same-time. acontinuous motion, asis the-case in a rotary apparatus, of all material particles, which consequently would disturb, or at least retard; the decomposition of thedifierent materials to be disintegrated. The stirring-shoes are set in a plowing position by the levers a a and b b. When the machine arrives at the front end'of the oxidizing-chamber the lover a a will strike the interior wall of the furnace while b meansof the coupling-rod m m the lever 11 is turned" sofar asto lift the-stirringshoes 0 c on the pipes at and a" above the materials under trreatmenttill theilevsr strikes and place the shoes in a working position,

some; p s

I the rear wall of thefurnaee and turns the shoes 1a a reverse position.

The object for consl ructin g the leading parts of the machine, a: :2 xi, u u": u ,,and u u 'u,

, .andthe'exit-pipes j j hollow is for the double y purpose to cool the machine in the fire, as well chine it will pass oft either by a separately in- "verted pipe or a partition in the pipes a." s w" u u a a through 2' 2 z", while the exit-pipesf f are closed. v

' 0n the red a and a there are attached two scrapers, w andw Th'esesc'rapers are, dur- Zing the process ofdisintegration, suspended on hooks a0 and o 0; When the materials are tohedischarged the scrapers are set in working position, and will carry the disintegrated materials by every movement of the machine from rear to front, while during the motion of the machine to the rearof the furnace the scrapers are turned over'byj'the joint-n n, and uplifted by the wheels 11 1'), carry no materials backward, so that the same are accumulated only on the front of the furnace, and thence they may be withdrawn with ease by the laborer either through the door rand r and r and r,or, as above stated ,fro n chamber D through the openings 9 and 9 into the chamber (hand from there through h int-o the arched room 9 g and g 9'. Here they'may remain to coolofl till they are removed at pleasurefor the pur pose above stated.

3 If the. furnace is to be worked for ehlorifying silver ores for the purpose of their perfect amalgamation, which ores do notoften contain the requisite quantity of sulphuret-s or sulphates absolutely necessary to secure a perfect disintegration, or if the furnace is to be worked for the purpose of producing alkaline sulphates from chlorides, refuse from salt works, or alkaline earths, the necessary-quantity of sulphurousacid may easily be produced as-a try-product, when the oxidizing-chamber O is charged with sulpburetores or metallurgical products for the subsequent purpose of the extractin g therefrom the precious metals, or to render-the baser metals more valuable, or forboth,

purposes combined. Thesilver ores or the alkaline matters are then to be charged into the disintegrating-chamber D, in which the sulphurous acid or sulphuric acid produced in the chamber 0 is conducted by keeping the dampers i'i,'&c., in the chimney-E closed, while the lines e e, &c.-,ar'e opened for the exit of the surplusproducts of combustion through "the chimney F.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure lay-Letters Patent, is,-

.1. An oxidizing, desulphurizing, chlorilying, and disintegrating furnace, as shown in,

the drawings and detailed in the specification.

2. A. stirring-machine, with all its parts, as illustrated and specified.

3. A water and heating apparatus, as illustrated, and for the purpose described,

4. The substitution of fireclay or porcelain tubes, or their equivalents, forthe purpose of converting water into steam and superheating the same.

5. The cooling of the stirring-machine by air, steam, or water, used separately or combined, inthe manor-rand for the purpose as describedand set forth.

""In testimony whereofI- have signed my name to this specification in-the presence of two subscribing witnesses. v

ROBERT GEORGE.

Witnesses;

JOHN LrKENs, L. B. SELBY. 

